Suspected hit and run in Bronte

A skateboarder riding home after work was left for dead just metres from his eastern suburbs home in a suspected hit-and-run on Wednesday morning.

Christopher Rhodes, 26, was found unconscious on St Thomas Street in Bronte by a passing motorist at 2am.

Police initially believed the Clovelly bartender may have come off his skateboard, which was found by the side of the road.

However, 30 minutes later, a 36-year-old man was pulled over on the Pacific Highway at Chatswood by police who observed him driving erratically.

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Prohibited drugs were allegedly found in his car, which was seized when police suspected it may have been involved in the Bronte incident.

The man was questioned by police on Wednesday but refused to participate in an interview. He was charged with unrelated traffic matters and Inspector Phil Brooks said the white Diahatsu would undergo weeks of forensic testing.

He said there was no obvious evidence on the car because of rain overnight but the timing of the two incidents had led police to believe they may be related.

"It was just a chance intercept and some eagle-eyed police spotting a vehicle and alerting others over the police radio network," Inspector Brooks said.

Mr Rhodes' brothers Daniel and Jack remained by his bedside in St Vincent's Hospital on Wednesday where he is in a critical condition with life-threatening head injuries.

His mother and stepfather were rushing home from the US.

The former Randwick Boys High School student's Facebook page is full of photos of barbecue dinners cooked for friends and abseiling adventures with his brother.

After posting photos of a secluded bush camp, his mother joked that her son had "checked right out of society".